Oman's producer price based inflation falls 5.7% in Q1 of 2020

Muscat: The Sultanate's producer price index (PPI)-based inflation fell by 5.7% in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period of 2019, according to the latest statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
The price of oil and gas products declined by 6.3 per cent, and those of non-oil products dropped by 3 per cent in Q1 of 2020, compared to Q1 of 2019.
Among oil and gas group, refined oil products fell by 9.9 per cent, and the prices of crude oil and natural gas declined by 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period of the previous year. In the non-oil group, the prices of the manufacturing group dropped by 3.9 per cent.
Among different sub-groups in the manufacturing sector, the prices of most of the product groups fell at varying degrees. The producer prices of metal products, machinery and equipment declined by 6.2 per cent, transportable goods fell by 3.3 per cent whereas food, beverages and textiles products group dropped by 2.3 per cent.
In the food, beverages and textiles products group, the price of beverages fell by 18.7 per cent whereas those of dairy products rose by 5.2 per cent; fish, fruits, vegetables and oils by 3.1 per cent; and clothing, textiles and footwear by 0.7 per cent, added the NCSI report.
Meanwhile, the price of chemicals products fell by 5.7 per cent; rubber and plastic products by 4.3 per cent; glass, cement and marble products by 2.3 per cent; paints and pharmaceutical products by 1.2 per cent; and wood and paper products by 0.2 per cent, the NCSI bulletin showed.
The price index of metal products, machinery and equipment in the first quarter of 2020 declined by 6.2 per cent compared to the same period of 2019. There was a drop in prices of raw metals and its finished products by 8.4 per cent. Prices of distribution and delivery of electricity apparatus, recording tapes and CDs fell by 6.3 per cent, the report concluded.